Request Network announced that it has partnered with Wikimedia Foundation to provide a transparent donation mechanism for one of the internet’s most popular websites.

The request platform, called WooReq, is designed to be a flexible payment gateway to provide solutions for a range of financial applications. This ERC20 token aims to provide invoicing, direct payment, auditing, accounting, IoT payment frameworks and transparent spending ledgers.

Bringing Blockchain to the Non-Profit Sector

Request is a decentralized network built on top of Ethereum, which allows anyone, anywhere to request a payment. The request can be detected and paid securely, without the need to involve a third party.

Part of Request’s main proposition is the integration of localized trade law and legislation, allowing transacting parties to automatically negotiate any regulatory hurdles that may have otherwise interfered. These transactions all take place on an immutable, authenticated ledger which acts as a unique source of truth for accounting and auditing.

Request‘s focus on transparent accounting services is particularly interesting, with the team targeting public budgeting of institutions such as city halls, governments and NGOs in a move that aligns with the agenda of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank.

The team proposes a framework that would allow such institutions to adopt a convenient platform that would allow real-time auditing of public funds to foster accountability, integrity, and trust within official bodies.

We're very excited to announce a partnership with the @Wikimedia Foundation, decentralizing the way they accept cryptocurrency donations 🙏

While the Request project may appear ambitious, the goals it intends to achieve are not without merit; Request has already seen partnerships from Price Waterhouse Cooper France and Francophone Africa in providing blockchain based financial solutions. This cooperation will see Request foundation in a leadership role, providing the companies and their clients with vital knowledge of the blockchain infrastructure and aiding them in “accelerating R&D and increasing adoption of real-world financial blockchain solutions.”

With the recent news of Paypal’s implementation of higher transaction fees and debit charges, customers may be attracted to this kind of flexible, low-cost alternative. During the team’s most recent announcement, they also revealed integration with WooCommerce, a WordPress plugin for that provides easy e-commerce solutions.

According to BuitWith, a prominent web technologies research company, the WooCommerce e-commerce platform accounts for 42% of the entire internet payment platform ecosystem.

This announcement also unveiled Request Networks partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation, an American non-profit and charitable organization that operates the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, alongside 14 other free knowledge projects. Wikipedia has been an integral part of the internet since its inception, allowing for a crowd-sourced knowledge repository that allows external sourcing and redistribution thought the Attribution and Share-alike Creative Commons licenses.

Wikimedia Testing Waters Away From Coinbase

The Wikimedia foundation depends mostly on donations and since 2014 has been accepting bitcoin donations through Coinbase, a third party payment provider that allows for direct conversion into USD.

Request Network will provide the ability for users to contribute to the foundation with any digital currency, allowing complete real-time transparency of donor transactions without the possible interference of third parties.

The French chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation is currently undergoing a pilot program to trial the platform before it is rolled out to the rest of the organization. Wikimedia has long been a proponent of maintaining an entirely transparent donation policy and will continue to further their efforts in providing an open donations platform stating:

“Crypto-donations enabled by blockchain technology offer a guarantee of simplicity and trust for donors. The Blockchain technology offers a total and permanent visibility on the collected amount, which allows the Wikimedia Foundation to be as transparent as possible.”

The announcement marks an enormous step forward for the Request Network, WooReq will cater to a massive audience by offering a free, open source crypto e-commerce plugin on one of the most popular website building platforms.

The Wikimedia partnership offers a perfect testing ground for the team to complete systems that will function as an integral part of their transparent smart auditing mechanism. In tandem, these partnerships will provide the network with some much-needed traction and volume, allowing them to cement themselves as a leader in transparent blockchain financial solutions.